Illustration Friday: Unfold

This week’s topic, unfold, is a great one since it can be interpreted on so many different levels. Above is a picture of Wand Banesh, a character created for the SlideShare Tell-A-Story Contest. Ken O’Donnell wrote the story, which explores the early days of racial tensions between the dominant paper eclectons and the subjugated plastics. As the story began to unfold, I had to scramble to think about how paper eclectons would be put together. Unlike plastic, paper lends itself to folding, twisting and scrunching. It’s a funny story. Check it out:

Birth Of A Rebel

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Karina finds two eclectons

These are two eclectons from my friend Karina (age 6.75). I haven't been as active in spotting eclectons lately so it's good that someone else is keeping up with this effort. These 2 look like they have some interesting components! Maybe Karina can comment on what they are?

Kaputeclecover sighted by George

George Grader sent this picture of something he suggests is an electon varient. According to George this is "an ecleton of the genus Kaputeclecover with IA occurring in the dark basement environ....While I suspected many eclectons in the deep basement here, their IAs were rather difficult to capture...in fact MUCH more difficult than suspected....I reckon the attached fleeting image of the object is actually not a true eclecton; it looks more like a hybrid ecleton suggesting that these beings have the capacity to interbreed and quickly mutate with miscellaneous micro kaput left overs (MMKLOs) often found right under their original more camouflaged hiding places (RUOCHP)

MMKLO + RUOCHP must = some form of Kaputecletovers...

While their parts are often traveling and amassing in the Eclectotopia of regional, soon to be connected landfills of the world, some suggest that their parts should not leave the home premises, yet some people knowledgeable in such things, and those more pure beings of Eclectonia might suggest otherwise...."

Wow. Deep eclecton theory from the deep basement. Thanks George!

eclecton #21

There are some household items that you just feel are going to turn into eclectons as soon as you see them. So if you dislike the idea of eclectons assembling in your home you should probably avoid these things - or get rid of them as soon as you can. My husband Scott found the main part of this eclecton holding together a package of dress socks he had just purchased and he commented that it was a likely candidate for an eclecton component. Sure enough, before we knew it, this eclecton had assembled out of the sock hanger, a bobby pin, two pencil holders, and a piece of plastic grape vine off a cluster of fake grapes – and the eclecton managed it all with a black rubber band so that he didn’t have to wait for any all purpose white glue to dry!

Heather’s 3rd eclecton!

Things are coming together pretty fast at Heather’s house (see the 1st and 2nd eclectons she found). This one used a kitchen scale for its body (Kwonnie); a rubber glove (Ikea) for its tail; earplugs (Mack’s Original Safe Sound Soft Foam) for its eyes; disposable shaver guards for its mouth; and drink tops for its ears. Cool.

eclecton #20: Illustration Friday: “Electricity”

When I heard that the theme for Illustration Friday was “electricity” I wondered, do eclectons ever assemble themselves from electrical components? Sure enough:

Eclecton # 20 components: body and legs: electrical converter plug (British Shaver type); head: Some sort of computer connector (Macintosh); arms: computer cables (PCI network card Wake-on-LAN (WoL) cables; miscellaneous: trace evidence of all-purpose white glue.

eclecton #19

This eclecton didn't have go much past the desk in my home office to assemble himself.
Eclecton #19 components: body and legs: binder clips over a plastic straw; head: pencil grip; eyes: mechanical pencil eraser (halved) inserted onto detached binder clip wire; tail: mechanical pencil tip.

Where do eclectons go?

“Where do eclectons go?’ asked one of my young friends. It’s a good question because, as we know, they disappear from view shortly after IA (instance of assemblage). Evidence is a bit sketchy but one theory is that they are trying to get back to Eclectonia, a poorly understood galaxy about 450,000 light-years away that was recently picked up by the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.

A 20-arcminute-wide map of star densities in the Eclectonia Dwarf Galaxy System


Astronomers were surprised that this little star system didn’t have the characteristic shape of previously mapped galaxies in the area. “This dwarf galaxy is very unusual.” said Dr. Elmer Dweebius, leader of the team that discovered it, “Its stars swarm around in a completely irregular pattern and instead of dark matter being the force that binds them, we keep picking up readings of…well…all purpose white glue, which is, of course, ridiculous. Clearly the system needs to be studied more thoroughly to determine the forces that are at work there.”

eclecton #18

Eclecton # 18 components: body and neck: toothpaste tube (Crest Extra Whitening with Tartar Protection, 8 oz.); legs: large bobby pins (Goody?); head: pump top (St. Ives Advanced Therapy Lotion, 18 oz.); eyes: plastic tips from bobby pins; crest: garment tag fasteners; tail: hairpins; miscellaneous: trace evidence of all-purpose white glue.

Looks like this is what happens when you don’t squeeze the tube from the bottom and roll as you go up…

Heather spots another eclecton!

And he is kind of spotty. Heather Nelson, who discovered this eclecton at her home, refers the things covering its body as “warts” but I’m inclined to think that they are some sort of sensory apparatus. Hard to say. Here are the household components she thinks it assembled itself from: body: Bandage box: Nexcare; eyes: dental floss dispensers (Oral-B Satin Floss); eyelashes/antennae: floss?; warty things: earplugs (Mack’s Original Safe Sound Soft Foam); mouth and jaw: some sort of minty breath spray dispenser; and, of course, there appears to be some all-purpose white glue involved.

Nice detective work, Heather.

eclecton #17

Eclecton # 17 components: body and neck: motor oil bottle (Safeway SAE 10W-40); legs: plastic combs; eye/nose/mouth: valve cleaner funnel cap (Lubro Moly Ventil Sauber, 150 ml) and water-soluble marker cap; tail: garden wand lever; miscellaneous: trace evidence of all-purpose white glue.

eclecton #16

Eclecton # 16 components: body: deodorant stick casing (Mennen Speed Stick, Unscented); front fins: plastic forks; eyes: inner cap carton seal (Lucerne whole milk, half gallon) and rubber bands; back fins: fabric white poinsettia leaves; tail: dental floss holder; miscellaneous: trace evidence of all-purpose white glue.